Worthy Christian News > World News > Scores Killed As Aftershocks Hit Japan

Scores Killed As Aftershocks Hit Japan

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

TOKYO/VATICAN CITY (Worthy News) – Aftershocks shook parts of Japan on Wednesday as the death toll from a series of strong earthquakes rose to 62, authorities said, prompting Pope Francis to pray for the nation.

The main 7.6 magnitude quake jolted central Japan on New Year’s Day, damaging buildings and roads, which also led to tsunami warnings along the coast by authorities.

The Noto peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast was hit most severely, with buildings ravaged by fire and houses flattened in several towns, including Wajima and Suzu, witnesses said.

It also rattled other parts of the Ishikawa Prefecture on the nearby main island of Honshu, triggering tsunami waves more than a meter (3.3 feet) high as well as sparking fires and destroying roads.

The tsunami warnings were later lifted, but people remained on high alert as aftershocks continued.

Japan’s nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan coast remained largely unscathed from the New Year’s Day earthquake that struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, officials said.

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that rescuers were in a “battle against time” as the death toll continued to rise.

RESCUERS TEAMS

He spoke as rescue teams struggled in freezing temperatures to reach isolated areas where many people are feared trapped under toppled buildings.

Besides those killed, more than 300 people were reportedly injured, including 20 of them in serious condition.

Nearly 31,800 people were reported in shelters on Wednesday as tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

As the detestation became clear, Pope Francis expressed his “closeness” to those suffering and who lost loved ones in the deadly earthquake.

Francis said in a telegram sent to the Japanese government that he mourns and prays for the victims and “those who mourn their loss, and for the rescue of any persons still missing.”

Archbishop Tarcisio Kikuchi of Tokyo also offered prayers and said that a team from the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Japan was assessing the damage to see how to respond to the tragedy.

Christians comprise roughly 1.5 percent of Japan’s mainly Shintoism and Buddhism, observing a population of some 124 million people, according to official data.